Plata o plomo: penetration, the purchase of power and the Mexican drug cartels
| Pages | 266-278 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/13685201111147568 |
| Date | 19 July 2011 |
| Published date | 19 July 2011 |
| Author | Jeffrey Simser |
| Subject Matter | Accounting & finance |
Plata o plomo: penetration,
the purchase of power and
the Mexican drug cartels
Jeffrey Simser
Ministry of the Attorney General, Toronto, Canada
Abstract
Purpose – The paper aims to explore the penetration of power in Mexico by drug cartels and the
attendant policy challenges to address the problem.
Design/methodology/approach – The history of unlawful activity and cartels is discussed as well
as the policy solutions being explored by the Mexican Government and its partners like the USA.
Findings – The challenges are longstanding, complex and defy simple solutions. Concerted problem
solving can change conditions on the ground.
Research limitations/implications – The impact of longer term initiatives to strengthen the rule
of law merits further study.
Practical implications – Drug cartels are taking a huge toll on Mexico, particularly in terms of
violence; this threatens not only Mexico but neighbouring countries as well.
Originality/value – The problems Mexico faces are placed in historical context and in the context of
the larger international trade in illicit drugs.
Keywords Mexico, Colombia,Organized crime, Money laundering,Drug cartels, Cocaine,
Asset forfeiture,Corruption
Paper type Research paper
Cuidad Juarez is a Mexican city of 1.3 million people that shares a border with El Paso,
Texas. Juarez is a dangerous place. Seven people a day are murdered. A total of
5,300 victims were killed between January 2008 and May 2010. The local police force is
notoriously corrupt. Jesus Manuel Fierro-Mendez was a police captain who smuggled
large quantities of cocaine to the USA. After threats from a cartel, he left the force in 2007
and joined one of the two rival organized crime groups that control the drug trade, the
Sinaloa cartel. Fierro-Mendez was caught in 2008 in El Paso after smuggling
50 kilograms a week across the border. He is now serving a 27-year sentence in the USA.
This all-to-normal story becomes interesting when Fierro-Mendez testified in 2010
against his former boss in the Sinaloa ca rtel, Fernando Ontiveros-Aram bula.
Fierro-Mendez told the court that he took control of part of the army on behalf of his
cartel. Working through an inactive army captain, he fed the army sensitive informati on
respecting the operations of the rival Juarez cartel. which the army in turn used t o
destabilize operations and apprehend rival cartel members. Fierro-Mendez also told the
court that controlling the army meant controlling the plazas, portals for smuggling
drugs into the USA (Livesey, 2010).
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
www.emeraldinsight.com/1368-5201.htm
The views expressed in this paper are the personal views of the author and do not represent the
views of the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General or of the Government of Ontario. The
author is grateful for the suggestions and comments of a number of people, including Inspector
Mark Pearson of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
JMLC
14,3
266
Journal of Money Laundering Control
Vol. 14 No. 3, 2011
pp. 266-278
qEmerald Group Publishing Limited
1368-5201
DOI 10.1108/13685201111147568
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